A Nigerian man, who smuggled himself into South Korea to take shelter from his country’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram, faces deportation as an appeals court overturned its initial ruling Thursday. 

The court ruled against the Nigerian, who illegally entered the country by sea last year and applied for refugee status upon his arrival citing attacks and threats from the terrorist group in his home country. 

While the refugee application was in process, he filed a lawsuit to cancel the deportation order of the immigration office that took issue with his illegal entry and demanded he return to his country.

The appeals court, however, upheld the immigration office’s decision, saying that he can possibly avoid the threat from Boko Haram while still living in Nigeria. 

“The Nigerian moved to the northeastern town of Bama in 2010 after living in the southern city of Lagos for years. Considering Boko Haram is based in the North, there is little possibility of being persecuted if he lives in Lagos,” the court said in its ruling. 

The militant group Boko Haram, whose name loosely translates to “Western education is a sin” in the Hausa language, has caused havoc in Nigeria and its neighboring countries through bombings, assassinations and abductions. It is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state. 

The court questioned his “sincerity” in the refugee application, noting that he expressed his intention to return home after earning money here earlier in 2007 when he claimed asylum in Korea for the first time.

The Nigerian applied for refugee status in 2007 during his short trip to Korea on a tourist visa. Claiming to be the son of the chief of a tribe based in Bama, he argued that Boko Haram had attacked him and his family after he granted his tribe members the freedom of religion. 

But the immigration office did not accept his application at the time.
The ruling reverses the lower court’s earlier decision that required the immigration office to revoke the deportation order. The court had seen a clear disadvantage for him if he is forcibly sent back home, saying that the Nigerian would likely get refugee status here if his claims were found to be true. 

The deportation order will be suspended while the application process is underway, which normally takes two to three years. He will be housed in the detention center for foreigners until a decision is taken. 

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)